About | Lemon Blossoms

Hi and Welcome! I'm Kathy, a Professional Chef turned home-cook and a total foodie at heart. I love to cook and to teach. I think of food all the time, I read about food recipes, dream about food, talk about food, write about food and based on my curves I love eating all the food!
I obtained my culinary arts diploma in Southern California and have worked in the food industry ever since. My first job out of culinary school was for The Food Network working for Wolfgang Puck’s TV show (no pressure right?). In the first 10 minutes of my first time assisting Chef Puck on set, I cut my fingers and bled all over white chocolate! You can only imagine how embarrassed I was! I thought my professional career was over – luckily they kept me around and later I joined the culinary team of Throwdown with Bobby Flay.

Since then, I’ve taught cooking classes, worked as a private chef for a few celebrity clients around L.A, had two kids and after relocating from California, started this website!

Kathy & Chef Wolfgang Puck

Kathy & Chef Jet Tila

On Set with Food Network Crew

Kathy & Chef Robert Bleifer

And now?

I’m here to be your chef Bff.

With the right guidance, you (yes, you!) can be your own personal chef and make restaurant-worthy recipes at home. Eating fresh foods doesn’t take a lot of effort (or toll on your budget!) as long as you plan ahead.

Fun facts about me

Favorite Dish: Peruvian Ceviche.
Last Meal: Steak Au Poivre.
Favorite Cuisine: Thai.
Favorite Fast Food: In-N–Out, Chick-Fil-A
Favorite Ingredient: Lemon
Phrase I use most often: Life is too short!
Fears: Karma (because Karma is a ….), scorpions.
Favorite Color: Yellow
Favorite Restaurant: Cannot pick just one! Spago Beverly Hills, CA The French Laundry Yountville, CA Hula Grill, Maui, HI and Palo (Disney Cruise Line – Disney Fantasy)

Here you will find:

Life is about balance and moderation so here you will find easy to make recipes, family friendly meals, one pan/one pot meals and healthier recipes as well as decadent and scrumptious dishes and some recipes with more involved preparations. Use the handy-dandy dropdowns through the site to filter by meat, cuisine, method, and ingredient!

Italian instant pot chicken cacciatore served in a white plate

Quick Dinners

Instant Pot

Basics

Top view of a bowl filled with Buffalo Chicken Wings

Appetizers

Side Dishes

And More!

About the site

My goal is to provide you with tried and tested recipes, step-by-step tutorials, videos, cooking tips and a little bit of food facts so you can be inspired and ready to cook easy and delicious restaurant quality meals at home.

I love bold flavors and I am inspired by cuisines from all over the world. Nothing makes me happier than a trip to an ethnic market and trying new foods. Here you will find many dishes inspired by international cuisines, although not all “authentic” – they will all be delicious!

FAQ

Why the Name Lemon Blossoms?

In our home in Southern California we had a small and somewhat short lemon tree that produced incredible amounts of lemons. I could see the tree from the kitchen windows and no matter how many lemons I picked, the tree was always full and always looked as if it was about to collapse from the heaviness of the fruit. Some days I got annoyed by its fruitfulness (I love lemons but seriously how many lemons can a girl use in a day!). The annoyance would go away as soon as I got close to the tree and smelled it’s blossoms. I would hunch under the branches and stand still. It was the best fragrance in the world! Clean, soothing and totally magical. I miss that tree dearly, luckily if I close my eyes, I can still smell the aroma of the lemon blossoms.

Can I substitute an ingredient in a recipe for a different one?

Possibly! However, the recipes published on this site are tested as written. Changes made by the reader are their own creation! I encourage you to experiment but I suggest that you first try the recipe as written.

Can I make a particular slow cooker recipe in an Instant Pot (or vice versa)?

Most likely you can however, I cannot give you exact times or convert the recipe for you without testing it first.

I made a particular beef/chicken instant pot recipe and the meat was under/over cooked. What went wrong?

I always like to remind readers that when it comes to proteins, many factors besides weight can affect the recipe outcome. For example, the amount of fat (marbling) or fat cap in certain cuts of beef will affect the outcome of the recipe. The same is true for organic vs non organic, grass fed versus grain fed and free range or caged. It is impossible for me to inspect every single cut of meat and the difference between ounces of fat. However, I can guarantee that I test all the recipes posted on this site multiple times before publishing them.

Can I write a guest post for you?

At this time, Lemon Blossoms is not accepting contributor writers.

What type of salt do you use?

My kitchen is stocked with 3 different types of salt at all times! For baking, I use Kosher salt and sea salt. For cooking, I use mostly sea salt, followed by Kosher salt and Himalayan salt.
For special occasions, I love a nice finishing salt like Fleur de Sel. My oldest son is obsessed with smoked salt at the moment!

Would you add a link to my site into one of your posts?

We only link to recipes from sources we know and/or feel confident we can recommend to our readers. Also, we will not add links for a fee.

Can I post your recipe on my blog/FB page/site?

All recipes and photos on this site are protected by copyright. Photos can be shared with a link back to the original post. Entire recipes should not be copy/paste into your site, blog or page.

Can I use one of your recipes for a roundup?

We would love if you do! Feel free to use one of our photos, the recipe title, a little description (if you want) and a link to the recipe. Please do not publish the entire recipe (ingredients/directions).

Tell us something (odd, unexpected or embarrassing) that we don’t know about you

My husband got me hooked on seasoned salt, ramen noodles and Taco Bell. Before I met him, I never had any of them.
My grandma who was an amazing cook, added chicken bouillon to most of her savory recipes (stews, beans and such). You can preach about sodium content all you want, I love that stuff!
I did very poorly in school. I had a hard time understanding things and always felt lost. I discovered later in life that I am dyslexic and also a visual learner. Thankfully culinary school was mostly visual!
I am one of those weirdos that feels at its best when only sleeping 3-4 hours per night. Don't hate me! This was not always the case. I needed a lot more hours years ago.

About Me